1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage and display shelf apparatus and more particularly to an assembly of individual shelves pivotally connected together in back-to-back relationship where the shelves are slidable into and out of a cabinet and when removed from the cabinet drop down in a tiered arrangement so that each shelf is at a different height to provide an obstructed view of the contents on all of the shelves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The storage of items and products in the home, and particularly in the kitchen, is the subject of a wide variety of solutions most commonly embodied in cabinets, such as kitchen cabinets, which include a wide array of configurations and accessories that facilitate access to food items, kitchen utensils, and cooking preparations such as herbs, seasonings and spices. These items are commonly stored in cupboards, drawers, and on countertops of the kitchen.
Of particular interest in the organization of a kitchen is the storage of food preparation condiments, which commonly include herbs, seasonings, and spices stored in small bottles or containers. It is common in many kitchens to have an extensive supply of these products, which create problems in finding storage space and organizing the storage space so a desired seasoning or spice can be easily located. When the storage space becomes disorganized, it is difficult to efficiently locate the ingredients that are needed for the food preparation.
A number of solutions have been proposed for the storage and display of containers for seasonings. One of the most popular items utilized to organize a countertop is the Lazy Susan where herb and spice bottles and the like are placed on a rotatable round board. In most cases, the board becomes packed tightly with containers. Because the containers are of different size and are on the same level, their labels are concealed, and it is difficult to find the desired container. This problem is particularly acute when a Lazy Susan is positioned in an elevated position inside a cabinet where it becomes virtually impossible to identify any of the containers beyond those that are on the periphery of the tray.
One of the most common storage devices for organizing containers for herbs and spices is a conventional spice tray formed from a series of vertical shelves in a rack. The shelves take up counterspace. In most cases, they must be mounted to the countertop or to a vertical wall in back of the counter. Spice racks are efficient for a small number of containers, but for the storage of a large number of containers, which generally accumulate over a period of time in the kitchen, the conventional spice rack is not efficient. It is also known to attach a spice rack to the inside door of a cabinet, but this arrangement takes up interior storage space within the cabinet.
It has also been proposed to utilize the space under a kitchen cabinet so that the spice tray is elevated above the countertop. The tray is connected to the bottom of the cabinet and has limited capacity.
Attempts to improve the design and construction of under the counter storage racks and, particularly, spice racks are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,244,272; 5,957,558; and 7,168,773. U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,272 discloses an undercabinet spice jar drawer having a rectangular tray with multiple traverse, semi-cylindrical channels for holding jars in lateral rows. The tray has two raised, long side flanges, each having a notch near the rear. The flanges of the tray slide into two side rails of a mounting bracket. The front ends of the rails have sloped portions, which terminate in deep cradles. The tray is opened by pulling it straight out until the notches are over the cradles. The front of the tray is then lowered into the rear edges of the notches to engage the bottom of the cradles. The rear ends of the flanges engage the top of the mounting brackets except that the tray is angled downwardly about 45 degrees to provide convenient viewing and access to the spice jars.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,558 discloses a spice rack movable on a frame from a stored position to an extended position and then into a pivoted position where the drawer is perpendicular to the storage position. The storage cabinet is mounted to the underside or inside of the kitchen cabinet, preferably to the underside of the cabinet. The unit includes a frame that forms a storage region within the frame walls. The drawer is adapted to move out of the stored position to an extended position. The unit includes a frame that forms a storage region within the frame walls. The drawer is adapted to move out of the stored position to an extended position and thereafter, into a pivoted position. In the pivoted position, the tray is positioned vertically so to allow sufficient access to the containers stored on the trays.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,773 discloses a drawer expander having a plurality of trays stacked vertically on top of each other. Spring-biased arms connect the trays together so that the trays open when the drawer is opened and closed when the drawer is closed. The trays in an open position are staggered horizontally, one above the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,107 discloses a spice keeper associated with a kitchen cabinet that accommodates spices in cans or bottles of various sizes and shapes. The spice keeper is mounted within the underside perimeters of a kitchen wall cabinet with the purpose of eliminating the frustrations of storing spices on a kitchen cabinet shelf, in a kitchen cabinet drawer, or on a kitchen countertop and in racks hung on a kitchen cabinet door.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,568,212 discloses a silver chest formed by a plurality of drawers that may be readily withdrawn from the casing with a single operation and may be returned to the casing by single operation. Three drawers are pushed into the casing in the closed position. The operator by means of a knob pulls outward on the lowermost drawer. An ear piece slides on a rod of the drawer directly above it until it strikes a front piece causing the drawer to move outward into an open position. In the outermost position, the ear slides on the rod until it engages another part, which causes the ear to slide on the rod into an outward position. This movement results in a staggered array of drawers in a step-like configuration that makes them readily accessible.
U.S. Pat. No. 264,748 discloses a receptacle for letters, papers, money, or other articles for which files and drawers are usually employed. The receptacle is arranged to fit and slide in the compartment of a case. The receptacle consists of a series of smaller receptacles, such as trays, boxes, or packets. Two series of arm members are connected to the tray so that the trays can be folded one against the other. In a fully extended position the trays are in a step configuration where one tray is above the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,985,593 is another example of a cabinet having a plurality of pivotally mounted compartments. The compartments can be individually withdrawn, tilted, or even inverted without disturbing the other compartments. Any one of the trays in the cabinet can be withdrawn on its pivot and adopted in cooperation with the adjacent closed compartment to remain in a substantially horizontal and opened position beyond the vertical plane of the front face of the other compartments.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 886,066 and 4,874,211 disclose an array of connected trays and containers or compartments that are supported by a removable frame that permits the trays and compartments to be pivoted to a position where the individual trays or containers are accessible from a stored position to a displayed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,019,850 is an example of a display box formed by a series of trays that are initially nested in a main receptacle. The trays are connected so that they can be raised to produce a stair-effect. The trays are connected by a linkage comprising a pair of links on each side of the tray. A link arm is pivotally connected to the end wall of a front tray and has a slotted end for engaging a stud on another tray. A second link is pivotally connected to one tray and also has slotted ends for engaging studs on other trays. With this arrangement, the trays are movable from a stored horizontal position to a vertically raised position where one tray is at a higher elevation than the tray below it so as to make each tray readily assessable and the contents on the tray visible.
While it is known to provide storage racks and shelving for the storage and display of spice containers, as well as, containers for other objects that need to be efficiently stored and displayed, a number of known devices rely upon the attachment of the storage unit to the exterior of a cabinet, such as under a cabinet. However, under the cabinet trays have a limited capacity in either a horizontal or a vertical position. When storage trays are positioned inside a cabinet, locating a desired container is difficult because the support rack is not removable within the cabinet other than a Lazy Susan-type rotary tray. Therefore, there is need for a storage and display shelf that can retain a significant quantity of items in a cabinet out of sight and when desired to access the stored items, the shelf can be moved to a position where all the items are clearly identified for retrieval and replacement on the shelf.